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Chief asks for four officers, new patrol vehicles and equipment upgrades
Summary
Collegedale’s police chief requested four additional patrol officers to cover deployments and prepare for growth, proposed switching most fleet purchases from Durango/Chrysler products to Ford Explorers, and outlined software, equipment and training increases tied to the personnel request.
Chief Sapp (Chief Sapp, speaker 9) presented the police department’s budget request focused on staffing, training, equipment and fleet replacement.
The chief said the department seeks four additional full‑time officers to maintain response capacity while two current officers face military deployments and to prepare for continued city growth. "With asking with the 4 officers... we normally budget for 1 or 2 a year, so that's gone up to 4," he said, explaining training, academy costs and equipment purchases drive increases in multiple line items.
He described software and records costs that contributed to the rise in the records management line: a higher‑tier training vendor, an iPro annual fee recently added, eCitation software, and a traffic‑safety analytics tool that provides live and historical data (the vendor price was described at about $19,000 per year). The department also seeks Cellebrite forensic tools for extracting data from phones and devices, in part because prior vendor support has ended.
On uniform allowances and equipment, the chief asked to raise the uniform allowance from $1,000 to $1,500 per officer and increase part‑time staff allowance to $250. Equipment needs tied to new hires include tasers, body cameras, patrol rifles and routine upfitting for additional vehicles.
Fleet: the chief recommended moving away from recent experience with Durango/Chrysler vehicles to Ford Explorers and F‑150s because of repeated mechanical failures in the current Durango fleet. Commissioners asked about reusing cameras, radars and radios; the chief said those items would be reused where compatible but consoles and certain fittings would need replacement.
Capital: the police capital request includes 10 replacement vehicles and funding for equipment/upfitting; much of the vehicle funding reflects dollars to keep the fleet on a replacement cycle rather than expanding total fleet size.
The commission asked about academy timing and off‑site upfitting capacity; the chief said he intends to use Cleveland State for academy training where possible and noted public works mechanics have handled several upfits in the past. Commissioners signaled support but asked staff to detail timing and cost tradeoffs before final approval.
Next steps: staff will provide more detailed cost estimates, vehicle timing (procurement lead times discussed), and the commission will consider the police budget as part of the overall fiscal package.
